Hunger Strike (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Hunger Strike


Artist = Temple of the Dog
from Album = Temple of the Dog
B-side = "Your Saviour" / "All Night Thing"
Released = 1991
Format = CD single, Cassette, Vinyl
Recorded = November 1990 – December 1990 at London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington
Genre = Grunge
Length = 4:03
Label = A&M
Producer = Rick Parashar, Temple of the Dog
Writer = Chris Cornell
Last single =
This single = "Hunger Strike" (1991)
Next single = "Say Hello 2 Heaven" (1991)Extra tracklisting
Album = Temple of the Dog
Type = studio
prev_track = "Reach Down"
prev_no = Track 2
this_track = "Hunger Strike"
track_no = Track 3
next_track = "Pushin Forward Back"
next_no = Track 4Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Audio file = HungerStrike.OGG"Hunger Strike" is a song by the American rock band Temple of the Dog, released in 1991 as the first single from the band's sole studio album, "Temple of the Dog" (1991). It was Temple of the Dog's most popular song. The song peaked at number four on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It appears on the 2007 Chris Cornell compilation "The Roads We Choose - A Retrospective".

Origin and recording

The song was written by vocalist Chris Cornell. It features a duet between Cornell and vocalist Eddie Vedder. Cornell was having trouble with the vocals at practice, when Vedder stepped in. Cornell later said that "he sang half of that song not even knowing that I'd wanted the part to be there and he sang it exactly the way I was thinking about doing it, just instinctively."cite web|title=KISW 99.9 FM: Seattle, Radio Interview by Damon Stewart in The New Music Hour with Chris Cornell, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard|author=Nicholls, Justin|publisher=Fivehorizons.com|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/radio041491.shtml|accessdate=2007-10-03|date=1991-04-14]

Cornell on the song:

When we started rehearsing the songs, I had pulled out "Hunger Strike" and I had this feeling it was just kind of gonna be filler, it didn't feel like a real song. Eddie was sitting there kind of waiting for a [Mookie_Blaylock#In_Popular_Culture| [Mookie Blaylock] rehearsal and I was singing parts, and he kind of humbly—but with some balls—walked up to the mic and started singing the low parts for me because he saw it was kind of hard. We got through a couple choruses of him doing that and suddenly the light bulb came on in my head, this guy's voice is amazing for these low parts. History wrote itself after that, that became the single.Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". "Spin". August 2001.]

Guitarist Mike McCready on the song:

I remember thinking that this was a really beautiful song when I heard it. Chris Cornell (Soundgarden) showed me the riff. I had a '62 reissue Strat and I wanted to use the fourth-position tone setting - between the bridge and middle pickups - for the beginning of the song because I like that softer sound. Then I kicked it to the front pickup for the heavier part of the song. This is one of many amazing songs written by Chris. [Gilbert, Jeff. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/gs0595.shtml "Prime Cuts: Mike McCready - The Best of Pearl Jam!"] . "Guitar School". May 1995.]

Lyrics

Cornell stated that the song's lyrics express "somewhat of a political, socialist statement." [cite web | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/244643_cornelltranscript.html | title=Transcript of exclusive P-I interview with Chris Cornell | accessdate=2008-07-23 | author=Hay, Travis | publisher="Seattle Post-Intelligencer" | date=2005-10-15] The song puts forth the theme of stealing bread to give to the poor and protesting in solidarity with them via a hunger strike after witnessing injustice in food distribution.

Release and reception

Although the album had been out for a year by 1992, A&M Records realized what they had in their catalog was essentially a collaboration between Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, who had both risen to mainstream attention in the months since the album's release. A&M decided to re-issue the album and promote "Hunger Strike" as a single. "Hunger Strike" became the most successful song from "Temple of the Dog" on the American rock charts. The song peaked at number four on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number seven on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart. Jim Guerinot, A&M's senior VP of marketing at the time, said, "I don't think that anyone would have paid attention if "Hunger Strike" wasn't a great song." [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,311271,00.html "In the Temple of Pearlgarden"] . "Entertainment Weekly". July 31, 1992.] It still receives regular radio play on many hard rock radio stations.

Outside of the United States, the single was released in Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top 50 on the Canadian Singles Chart. "Hunger Strike" reached the top 60 in the UK.

David Fricke of "Rolling Stone" said, "Cornell and Vedder...turn its four minutes into a veritable opera of rock-star guilt...Cornell turns on the Robert Plant-style napalm full blast, but it is Vedder's scorched introspection that brings the conscience in the song to a full boil. "Hunger Strike" was his first starring vocal on record; it is still one of his best." [Fricke, David. [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/templeofthedog/albums/album/301499/review/5944099/temple_of_the_dog "Temple of the Dog: "Temple of the Dog"] . "Rolling Stone". December 14, 2000.]

Music video

is featured in the video. There are two different versions of the video for the track.

Live performances

The song was first performed live in Seattle, Washington at the Off Ramp Café on November 13, 1990.cite web|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/tour/cc/t199091.shtml|title=Pearl Jam: 1990/1991 Concert Chronology|accessdate=2007-10-03|publisher=Fivehorizons.com] In the time since the album's release, the band reformed for short live performances on four occasions where both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam were performing. They performed "Hunger Strike" on October 3, 1991 at the Foundations Forum in Los Angeles; October 6, 1991 at The Hollywood Palladium for the "Rip Magazine" 5th anniversary partyciteweb|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/kerrang_p2.htm|title=Kerrang! 100 greatest gigs of all time] ; August 14, 1992 in Reston, Virginia; and September 13, 1992 in Irvine, California (both shows were part of the Lollapalooza festival series in 1992).cite web|url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/tour/cc/t1992p2.shtml|title=Pearl Jam: 1992 Concert Chronology part 2|accessdate=2007-10-03|publisher=Fivehorizons.com]

Cornell and Vedder reunited to sing the song during a Pearl Jam show in Santa Barbara, California in 2003, and Vedder and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney performed a rendition of "Hunger Strike" that is viewable as an easter egg on disc 1 of the Pearl Jam "Live at the Garden" DVD. Pearl Jam also performed the song in Antwerp and Barcelona in 2006 with Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother singing Cornell's parts. Cornell added "Hunger Strike" to his solo live set in 2007. Cornell also performed the song on Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour with Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington joining in to sing Vedder's part.

Track listing

;7" Single (Germany and UK), 7" Promotional Single (UK), CD (Australia), and Cassette (UK)
#"Hunger Strike" (Chris Cornell) – 4:03
#"All Night Thing" (Cornell) – 3:52

;12" Single (UK), 12" Promotional Single (UK), CD (UK and Germany), and Promotional CD (UK)
#"Hunger Strike" (Cornell) – 4:03
#"Your Saviour" (Cornell) – 4:02
#"All Night Thing" (Cornell) – 3:52;Promotional CD (Canada) and Promotional CD (US)
#"Hunger Strike" (Cornell) – 4:03

;Promotional Cassette (US)
#"Hunger Strike" (Cornell) – 4:03
#"Say Hello 2 Heaven" (excerpt) (Cornell)
#"Pushin Forward Back" (excerpt) (Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Cornell)
#"Reach Down" (excerpt) (Cornell)

Chart positions

References